24 Jun 2010

I decided to return for a moment to the wonderful spring. Summer is of course the best season in many ways but spring ... that tantalizing time of promises of what's to come. The joy of the first little green shoots, of the firts vibrant bird song, of everything springing to life all around every single moment, of the rapidly increasing day light hours. Then suddenly - swish - it is all so tenderly green and lushious, perfect without the flaws appearing later on in the summer, insects are humming in the air, flowers are bursting into bloom all around. It surely is in that respect the very season to behold.

Therefore I'm publicising a collection of photos from the spring time in this post.

End of April. There is spring in the air but the sea ice has not yet broken.

As of yet the warmth from the sun is best enjoyed inside in a nice sunspot

Outdoors is still a bit chilly but in the sun and sheltered from wind the chill is not so apparent

Beginning of May. The ice has broken and snow melted away but as of yet the green things are dormant, but only for a few days

Yet splashes of colour are provided by these cute little fungii ...

and the first little spring flowers

On closer inspection the little 'mouse ears' on the tree branches are already there

Birds everywhere have a very busy time

Our 'city' fox is not so handsome when the thick winter coat starts to fall off

Within a week the picture is already quite different

The pond lily leaves have just surfaced but not yet aquired there summer green colour

Fish are playing in the shallows and seeking for places to lay their spawn ...

and gulls keep a close eye on the menu of fish

The farmers fields are plowed and ready to start bringing up a new crop

The days are long and light. The upper photo was taken half past three in the morning.

The wonderfully scented Lily of the Valley litter the woodland floor

The garden looks so delicious that one could eat it

Oh the joy of the glorious spring flowers

Like sunshine on the ground

God's own creation looks no worse

It is just as wonderful to view and fill the lungs with the freshness of it all

Everywhere it's bristling with life

Pretty little things come and join our garden habitat with us

Warm spring evenings invite to sit down by the water and enjoy the late sunsets

The dogs enjoy soaking up the sun during the warmest part of the day ...

after which it is nice to cool down by splashing about in the water

Then there's the time for some other activities. Each to their own.

Oh you tender spring time, you have gone for this year but I still remember the injection of vitality that you inserted in me

22 Jun 2010

and since we no longer live in the year 2009 I also changed everything about it - name and all.

Yes, I'm still live and kicking and have not forgotten about my dear hobby - photography.

I sincerely appologice to my finnish friends (if indeed I still have some after all this time - or any at all come to think of it) for concentrating only on one language from now on. Ie. english. In my lazyness I just find it simpler all round.

I really have no particular theme for this post (or for the blog in itself) so here I'll start with some random photos and collages of this and that

Welcome to my domain

The blog concentrates mainly on the natural world through my eyes

The blog owner herself

Lucia, Ljuba and Rufino

Triple Trouble

map of Finland

Espoo - my home town

Statistics about Finland

Total length is 1157 km at the longest point
Total width is 542 km at the widest point
Total width is 200 km at the narrowest point
Total area is 338 145 square km
Coastal border line is 1100 km
Gulf of Bothnia to the west and Gulf of Finland to the south
Archipelago includes abt. 81 000 islands (not counting the smallest rocks)
Largest island is the Åland main island (a swedish spoken area enjoying sovereignity and outside of the EU)
Most northern point is Nuorgam 2200 km from the North Pole
Most southern point is Bogskär (island) 6600 km from the South Pole
Total border line length is 3600 km
Borders Sweden to the west, Norway to the north, Russia to the east and Estonia to the south
Nearly a quarter of the land area is above the arctic circle (Lapland)
Finland is the fifth largest country in Europe by total area
Total amount of inland water areas is 33 522 square km
Percent of forestation is abt. 70 %
Total amount of lakes is abt. 80 000 (not counting the smallest ponds)
Biggest lake is Saimaa
Amount of rivers is 647 of which main rivers 90
Biggest river by water area is Kemijoki and the longest is Tornionjoki (both in northern Finland)
The highest point is mount Halti in Lapland 1328 m above sealevel
The lowest part is the province Ostrobothnia largely under 100 m above sealevel
The biggest cave is Torhola chalkstone cave, 31 m long (situated in southern Finland near the small town of Lohja)
Total population is abt. 5.7 million
Domestic languages are finnish, swedish and saami (in Lapland)
Finland is devided into 12 provinces
Total number of towns is 102
Largest towns are Helsinki (capital), Espoo, Tampere and Turku (Åbo in swedish)
Finland has been independent since 1917 and the independence day is 6th December.
Finland is a constitutional democracy and has a president (Mrs. Tarja Halonen), a ministery and a parliament
The climate is typically northern with four distinct seasons.
Winter spans often into April. April and May are the real springtime. Summertime is from June to August and the autumn often spans into December in large parts. Lapland has a different climate but still four seasons.

Valkyrien of Norway made me a hot blogger by this award
Thankyou dear friend. I must take care not to burn my fingers while writing :)

Oh please do not think I gave myself an award, even if I did start this one. There is a limit to my vanity. No, it was dear Pacey from Today's Blah that wanted to give this same award back to me as what I gave to her. So I made it as well as received it.
At leats that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I got this nostalgic award from Zilga
Thank you dear blog friend

I got this lovely award from Valkyrien and EbieThank you so much my dear friends